Budget won’t keep property taxes down in cities, towns and villages this year

Infrastructure shaky, despite Provincial Budget

November 25, 2009

Many Saskatchewan cities, towns and villages could miss out on another construction season because of continuing uncertainty about Federal funding for municipal infrastructure, said members of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association executive. &quot;The Building Canada Fund was announced 13 months ago in last year's Federal<br />

The Federal Government does not get it

November 25, 2009

The Federal Budget was the hot topic of the morning as SUMA&rsquo;s Executive met today for their regular scheduled meeting. They came to one conclusion: Despite a national dialogue about the dire need for municipal infrastructure funding, Canada&rsquo;s government has made it apparent through yesterday&rsquo;s Federal Budget that they just don&rsquo;t get it. Nothing in yesterday&rsquo;s document relieves any of the pressure on local property tax payers.<br />
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&ldquo;There is a mountain of evidence suggesting that Canada&rsquo;s infrastructure<br />

Premier Wall acknowledges more revenue sharing needed

November 25, 2009

In his address at SUMA&rsquo;s Convention opening ceremonies Premier Brad Wall acknowledged that his party&rsquo;s promised seven per cent increase in revenue sharing isn&rsquo;t going to be enough. More than 1,100 municipally elected officials, administrators and guests listened attentively as Premier Wall outlined his vision for the Province&rsquo;s future. He promised that own-source revenue sharing will remain a major issue with his government and that an agreement will be reached sooner than later.<br />

Commitments by Minister Hutchinson encouraging

November 25, 2009

Saskatchewan&rsquo;s newest minister of Municipal Affairs, the Hon. Bill Hutchinson, promised to work towards more substantial revenue sharing for municipalities when he met with the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association&rsquo;s Board of Directors on Friday, December 7. The Minister heard strong concerns expressed at the Board table about the insufficiency of the Sask. Party's election promise of an interim 7 per cent increase in Revenue Sharing grants for the next two years, pending the negotiation<br />

New provincial government means new opportunities for urban municipalities

November 25, 2009

Saskatchewan&rsquo;s electorate collectively made a clear decision yesterday in favour of a new provincial government. By winning seats in our largest cities, along with strong support in smaller communities, the Sask Party has the mandate for changing how government works together with urban municipalities. The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association congratulates Premier elect Brad Wall and the Sask Party and looks forward to a productive government-to-government working relationship.<br />

Provincial Parties Dodge Municipal Funding Issues

November 25, 2009

The election is less than two weeks away and members of the SUMA Executive held a press conference today to pose this question to Saskatchewan&rsquo;s political parties: &ldquo;Where&rsquo;s the cash?&rdquo; They noted that many promises have been made, but little has been said about the critical lack of funding for cities, towns and villages across Saskatchewan.<br />

SUMA delegation to meet with Saskatchewan MPs in Ottawa

November 25, 2009

Members of the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association are in Ottawa Wednesday, Oct. 17 to meet with MPs from the Conservative Party&rsquo;s Saskatchewan Caucus. SUMA arranged the meeting to discuss critical shortfalls in federal infrastructure funding.<br />

New website promotes sustainable communities

November 02, 2009

Planning today for a better tomorrow requires hard work and ingenuity. The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association hopes to drive home this point through its newest venture, the Sustainable Communities Initiative. Through a new website, the cornerstone of this initiative: www.sumasustainability.org, SUMA&rsquo;s vision is to become the leading source of sustainable community planning information for all of Saskatchewan&rsquo;s urban municipalities.<br />

SUMA unveils new initiative at Fall Regional meetings

November 02, 2009

The Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association is holding their Fall Regional meetings beginning Monday, Oct. 15 in Swift Current and ending more than a week later in Odessa on Tuesday, Oct. 23. The agenda is diverse; topics will range from Revenue Sharing and infrastructure funding to the upcoming provincial election and the potential impact on urban municipalities.<br />